Shuffle Introspections
by Lattelady
Summary: Ten Castle and Beckett moments done to ten random songs.


**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **Castle and Beckett belong to someone else, as does the music that inspired these moments.

**Notes:** My fist time writing 'Castle'. These are my attempts at the ten-song shuffle challenge that has been going around. Write a story in the time a random song plays. I did go back and make sure there were no words left out or too many typos, but other than that, I followed the rules.

**Shuffle Introspections**

**By Lattelady**

* * *

**The Woman In Me** – Shania Twain

Kate Beckett stood very still, unable to breathe or make sense of what was going on. Castle moved into her personal space, his body exuding sexuality. She was confused, her insides still vibrated from the gun battle they'd been caught in moments earlier. Well, she'd had a gun, he'd popped open a champagne bottle. The sound had been right….

"You know what I want." He leaned closer, his scent filling her nostrils, his lips millimeters from her cheek.

She felt something curl deep in her belly as his mouth brushed the shell of her ear.

"Never, ever call me, Kitten, again," he whispered and brushed past her, leaving her a mass of quivering nerves on the inside.

Damn him, she thought. He knew exactly what he'd done to her.

* * *

**I'm Not That Girl** – Kristin Chenoweth

Kate Beckett looked around the gathering at the dance company fundraiser. For one small moment she'd forgotten. She was here on business, here to catch a killer. A Cinderella dress didn't change the facts. She didn't fit in. She wasn't really Castle's date. She didn't fit into his life, no matter how hard he tried to fit into hers.

* * *

**Walk Of Life** – Dire Straits

It was late, almost one in the morning. The only light in the room came from a reading lamp at Kate's desk. She was alone in the office that made up her section of Precinct 12, tapping her foot to a catchy tune that was coming from her iPod speakers. Paperwork was untouched in front of her while she stared off into an unfocused distance, contemplating one Richard Castle and the impact he was having on her usually ordered life.

"There's only one thing to do," she sighed, as she got up and let the music wrap around her. "Gotta dance it out."

With that she let her body sway and her feet move, lost in the ebb and flow of notes around her. She was totally unaware of a blue-eyed author who stood in the door watching.

* * *

**Mahler: Symphony #1 In D, "Titan" - 03** – Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic

She'd finally given up and gone to him. She knew Martha was in San Francisco and Alexis in Washington DC on a class trip.

Kate believed it was a losing battle and she might as well get it over with. She wanted him and she could see in his eyes that he wanted her too. Maybe if they simply gave into their natural urges, it would get rid of the awful tension that had been building between them.

She didn't know what she'd expected, an itch that needed to be scratched? But it tuned out to be so much more. As he ran his hands over her body and kissed her, she gave in completely. A tightly coiled knot in her stomach snapped and part of her melted, as he explored all her hidden places.

* * *

**Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own** – U2

Kate Beckett was the strongest woman Richard Castle had ever met. He wanted to make just one thing better in her life; at least that's what he told himself, as he carefully studied the file on her mother's unsolved murder.

* * *

**Someone Like You** – Van Morrison

Richard Castle didn't know there were women in the world like Kate Beckett. Now that he did, he wasn't sure what to do about it. She was everything good and strong that he'd always wanted in his life, but none of his usual techniques with women worked on her.

At first he'd believed it was as simple as wanting someone he couldn't have, but as time went by he knew it was much more than that. Kate was a woman he could care deeply about, someone he could love. But in order to do that he'd have to chance showing her who he really was.

Did he dare, was it worth the pain of possible rejection?

A smile lit up his face as he remembered he was a gambling man. He was up for the challenge. A high-stakes game, that if they were lucky, they'd both win. Yeah, he was willing to toss his heart in the pot and was going to be damn sure Kate did as well.

* * *

**Nutcracker: Act 2:Arabian Coffee** – San Francisco Ballet Orchestra

Castle watched from a distance as Kate Beckett finally gave up and moved carefully and quietly toward the new coffee machine he'd bought for the station house. He knew she thought she was alone, which made the moment so much sweeter: observing her when she'd act naturally.

Her long strong fingers moved as if they were dancing across the front of the device. It made him catch his breath as he wondered what it would feel like to have her touch him like that.

He smelled the rich dark aroma of her coffee and watched as she raised the cup to her lips. It was a sensuous act and he almost felt like a stalker, watching her unguarded passion and joy…almost, but not quite.

* * *

**Fields Of Gold** – Sting

He held Kate tightly against him as she slept. Silver streaked her dark hair and lightened his. She'd been his muse and his heart for over twenty years. She'd taught him the meaning of the word love and given him a reason to expect more out of life than a series of one-nighters.

In return he'd shown her a safe, warm place where the woman she hid from the world could flourish and grow. In the warmth of his love she'd let down her guard and he'd wound himself tightly around her heart.

* * *

**Until It's Time for You to Go** – Helen Reddy

Kate knew she was getting in deeper than was smart, but for once she didn't care. She'd tried, really tried, but it had been a losing battle. She'd fallen in love with Richard Castle. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that once his obsession with Nikki Heat passed, he'd find himself a new muse and a new woman to warm his bed. But until that happened, she planned on enjoying every minute they had together.

It caught her totally by surprise when she discovered he was going to stay by her side forever.

* * *

**I Should Go **– Levi Kreis

Castle knew it was stupid. He had all the information he needed to write ten Nikki Heat books. He'd thought he could gather his material, gain a new conquest and be on his way, but there was something about Kate Beckett that kept him by her side, and unable to use his usual charm.

He knew she believed she was impervious to him, but she'd never really seen him in action. If he wanted a woman, that woman was his for as long as he desired.

Each day he arrived at the station, he promised himself that tomorrow he would go, but then he'd see her and his resolve would slip away.

Rick was stuck, good and truly stuck. He was unable to leave, and unwilling to revert to classic Castle.


End file.
